Chamber and committees

We have seen escalating costs for a while, and that is getting worse rather than better. It has had a disproportionate effect on our island communities because there are extra costs for transport to get the materials to islands before projects can even begin. That means that our islands already have an extra financial burden that areas on the mainland do not, so increased costs are a problem.

That is a really important point and something that we need to consider. Especially now that more people are working from home, we want to encourage people to embrace hybrid working as well.

I do not know whether there is a specific strand of work on-going in relation to that at the moment. Erica Clarkson can come in on that.

I will have to turn to officials on that. I am not sure exactly what stage that work is at.

We are certainly planning for that to be the case. Obviously, technology is changing all the time and it is really important that whatever infrastructure we put in place is, in essence, future proofed and can deal with any changes or upgrades that there may be in the future. It is important that we made that extra investment to ensure that we reach as many areas as we possibly can. That is where that extra investment has been absolutely critical.

I do not have figures on that. I do not know whether the team would be able to answer that question, but I would be happy to come back to the committee with more information.

We do not want island community impact assessments to be tick-box exercises, because that would defeat their purpose. If there are any particular examples that you are aware of in addition to the one that you have mentioned, please raise them with me in writing. I would be happy to look at them in more detail.

I do not have the detail of that particular community impact assessment before me, so I am not able to give a view on that today, but I would be happy to follow it up for the committee. There is an option available for the local authority to ask for a review of an island community impact assessment.

Finding affordable housing is increasingly an issue for people who live in our island communities. I do not know whether the officials who are here today have any further information on that, but, again, I would be happy to raise the topic with my Cabinet colleagues and get back to the member and the committee with further information and more detail. I do not have the figures in front of me.

The islands team will not have done that. I would have to check with housing colleagues about whether they have undertaken such a piece of work.

It is really important that we learn from previous rounds of funding as well as consider what is in the annual report, but it will feed into how we shape funds in the future.

I hope that I was able to explain in my previous response, even partially, how the regional inshore fisheries groups have come together. That was a means of trying to engage with fishers who have been hard to reach. It is vital that we have been able to do that work and that we established that network.

We covered stakeholder engagement a couple of weeks ago when I was at the committee talking about the co-management processes that we want and the people with whom we want to engage. Rather than their being in silos, this is about how we can bring our stakeholders together and collaborate. We are giving that active consideration. The issue is out for consultation at the moment, as are our other policies, which I hope all stakeholders will engage with. I am happy to take any feedback about the processes or any thoughts that stakeholders have about how those processes might be improved for the future.